Chapter 19
NINETEEN
Marchello
What did Lissia want from me? I’m a born killer. Ruthless and unapologetic.
I gave her an opportunity to walk away today, but she insisted that she stay with me. Did she think I would turn Angelo loose?
Maybe exposing her to the inner-workings of my world was a mistake. Could she ever adapt to what really happened in the shadows?
“You could have been killed today.” I let go of her and turned around. I wouldn’t look into her eyes and see disapproval or contempt. Not from her. “I will not apologize for my actions.”
How many times would I play out the alternative of what could have happened in my cursed thoughts?
“I did my job today,” I said. My father would be proud that I had stepped into the role I was meant to have from the day I was born. “I don’t have any regrets.”
“Chello.” She placed her delicate hand on my rigid shoulder. “I can’t see you the same way as I did this morning because now I know who you really are.”
“And who is that?”
Did I want her honesty? Would knowing how she really felt shatter me? But there was no going back. I’d given her what she wanted and let her see the real me.
She stepped around me so that we were facing one another. “You’re a man who will do anything to defend me. You would kill for me.”
“I have killed for you, and I will continue to burn this world down until you are safe and secure from all threats, enemies, and anyone else who wants to come for you.”
Angelo’s words didn’t escape me when he’d said I had no idea who was coming for us . Collins wasn’t our only threat.
“You standing by my side meant a lot to me,” I said. “I know that confrontation about your father wasn’t easy, but I let you say what you had to say in hopes that you could begin to heal.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t stay until the end.” She closed her eyes. “I’m not, I mean, I wasn’t ready…”
“Shh.” I pressed my fingers to her lips. “As I said before, you shouldn’t be tainted because of my choices.”
“But I need to know who you are and what you do. I’m your wife, and I want to understand you better.”
“You understand me better than anyone.”
She glanced over her shoulder. The guys had begun taking care of the mess I’d left in the back of the basement.
“Let’s go.” I took her hand and led her up the steps.
“What now?” she asked when we got to the main hallway. “Where do you put Angelo?”
“It will all be taken care of.” There was no need to give her the details that could incriminate her further. “Just put it out of your thoughts.”
“You’re really sexy when you’re in gangster mode.”
“Then I must be sexy all the time.” I smirked. “It’s the only mode I know.”
“That’s not true.” She took my hand and scooted closer. “I’ve seen other sides of you, and I love them all.”
She rested her head against my chest, and I swept my fingers through her hair. It wasn’t often that we shared quiet moments. Our combative personalities and the way we clashed with one another didn’t allow for much time to reflect.
Eliminating Angelo didn’t accomplish much in the way of finding out who sent that warning bomb. It only opened up more questions. Collins may have been part of the operation, but he wasn’t the bigger picture.
Lissia’s warm lips caressing my jaw yanked me from the sinister depths I wanted to escape to. When she trailed her hands down my chest and to my hips, she gazed into my eyes.
“What are you searching for?” I tilted her chin and swept my thumb along her bottom lip. “Tell me what you need to put this vicious day behind us.”
“Come upstairs and I’ll show you.” She took my hand and guided me to the staircase. “I’m all over the place, and I need you to settle me.”
The thought of fucking her in her father’s house aroused me more than it should have. But it also seemed like the perfect way to get the justice Lissia deserved. She was mine, and claiming her in this house was poetic.
“Lead the way.”
I followed her up the steps and down the long corridor that led to her old bedroom. The room she would never return to.
Once we were inside, I shut the door behind us.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” I swiped away the stray hair that fell over her eye. Making love to her now would help me gauge her mental state, but I didn’t want her to do it because she was trying to please me.
“I always want us.” She reached down and removed her black boots and socks as I slipped off my jacket and took off my tie. “Don’t you know that?”
“Take off everything,” I said. “I want you completely naked.”
She stripped in front of me, revealing all of her, then waited by the bed. I took my gun from the back of my pants and set it on the dresser.
Even in the dim lighting, I could make out the leopard-print comforter splattered with fuchsia tones. I still owed her a Corvette.
I unbuttoned my shirt and slipped it off my shoulders before bending down and taking off my shoes and socks.
She grasped the post on the bed as I unbuckled my belt, her greedy gaze following my every move.
I crossed the room and stopped in front of her, soaking in her perky breasts and hard nipples. She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth when I yanked the leather strap between my belt loops.
“You haven’t gotten yourself into any trouble in the past few days.” I ran my tongue along my top lip. “I don’t know if I should be pleased or disappointed.”
“What’s going to get you to use that belt on me?”
“You know the answer to that.” I slapped the strap against my palm. “But under these circumstances, let’s try something new.”
“Like what?” She rubbed her hand over my erect cock. “What are you going to do to me?”
“Torture you.” I circled my finger around her nipple as I leaned in and whispered, “I’m going to take my time, and I’m going to be relentless…”
“I’m wet thinking about it.”
“Dirty girl.” I ran the belt over her breasts, sliding it between them and down her stomach. “Spread your feet apart.”
She widened her stance, and I slipped the belt lower before drawing my hand back and slapping the leather against her mound. Grasping her hip with my free hand, I held her still and hit her a little harder this time.
She jerked back. “That stings.”
“It’s supposed to.” I lowered my lips to her neck and brushed them along her heated flesh. “Do you want more?”
“Always.” She slid her hand down my pants and gripped my cock.
I rocked into her palm as I sucked and bit her nipple, pulling on it with my teeth. She clutched me tighter and increased her speed.
“Stop.” I brought my mouth to hers and tangled our tongues together. “You know what’s going to happen if you keep that up.”
I grasped her wrist and removed her hand from my boxer briefs.
“I thought you like it when I make you come.”
“I love it, but I’m not ready to come.” I let go of her. “Turn around and get on your hands and knees.”
“Why?”
“Because I told you to.” I slapped the belt against my palm.
Defiance flashed in her stunning eyes before she gazed down at the belt and smiled. She turned around, dropped to the floor, then positioned herself as I had requested.
I let out a long, slow breath, admiring her toned ass as I took off my pants and boxer briefs. Joining her on the floor, I dragged the belt across her backside.
She arched her back and raised her hips as I settled behind her.
“Do you want me to use this on you?” I lowered the belt between her legs and ran it between them, rubbing her pussy. “Like this?”
“Yes.” She thrust in time with the movement.
With a slow momentum, I tugged the leather strap back and forth between her legs, holding it taut and moving it along her slit. She clawed at the carpet, wiggling and moaning in a frantic motion.
“Marchello, I want to…”
“Come?” I leaned into her, increasing the rhythm between her legs. “I’m not stopping you.”
“It… God… I…” She dropped her upper body to the floor, leaving her ass raised as she kept tempo with the friction of the belt. “Ah, fuck.”
She shuddered as she unraveled and released from the stimulation I created between her legs. I let go of the belt and rubbed her with my hand, pushing my fingers inside her as she rode out her climax.
“You have to do that again.” She turned and smiled.
I leaned against the foot of the bed and spread my legs before gripping her arm and bringing her to me.
“Suck my cock.” I tangled my fingers in her hair and guided her head to my lap. “I want to hit the back of your throat.”
She covered my length with her hot mouth and bobbed her head up and down. Taking me deeper with each pass, she swirled her tongue over the tip, then used her teeth to scrape my shaft.
“Hell.” I leaned against the bed, yanking on her hair and demanding more from her.
She didn’t disappoint as she licked and sucked with such determination. Clasping the base in her hand, she pumped faster.
“Lissia!”
My stomach constricted as bolts of hot lust flowed through my body, causing every muscle to strain as she plunged me over the edge and into insanity.
I let go, pulsing long, hot streams of ejaculation inside her eager mouth.
“Mmm…” She kept her lips compressed around me, swallowing until I had no more to give.
She rolled over and rested her head in my lap, staring up at me and breathing rapidly. I swiped my thumb under her lip to wipe away the juices from our encounter. Smoothing out her untamed hair, I massaged her scalp as I took in her beauty.
Her dark, sultry eyes called to my soul, and I was convinced I had found the only woman on this planet who could handle me.
“You’re a fucking goddess,” I said.
“Damn right I am.”
I jerked the throw off the end of the bed she would never sleep in again and covered her with it.
“Come closer to me.” She lifted the blanket and scooted over so I could cuddle next to her. “I want you to hold me.”
I wanted nothing more than to hold her for the rest of my life and never let her go.
Inching next to her, I circled her in my arms to pull her onto my chest. Her sweet scent lulled me into an unfamiliar calmness.
“How are you?” I rubbed her back. “I keep hoping things will get better so you can have a minute to catch your breath.”
“We’re never going to be normal.” She kissed my chest. “Are we?”
“I don’t think so, but I’d like for us to get to a place where we can at least pretend.”
“That sounds nice.”
“Soon.” I had no reason to believe any of what was occurring around us would be over soon, but I wanted life to get easier for her.
“Did your father really give you the order today?” she asked.
“I wouldn’t lie about that.” I traced my fingers down her arm. “Taking out a high-ranking member of a family is a big deal. The other families appreciate when it’s done respectfully. If it comes up later, my father will be able to say that I came to him.”
“My father didn’t ask permission when he came after you and Milo.”
“Well, he would have had to go to the other families and override my father.” I tightened my hold on her. “He knew that was useless.”
“So that means no one is supposed to come for you?”
“In theory,” I said. “It’s complicated. If there is a power play and someone has the backing, they could try to overthrow us, but they would have to have a really good reason.”
“Kidnapping me wasn’t a good enough reason?”
“Like I said, it’s complicated.” Normally, taking a family member was actionable in overthrowing another family, but Gian had too many enemies, and my father was the only option for the other families. Gian may have tried to start a war, but no one wanted to finish it with him.
“How complicated?”
“Your father was disrespectful for trying to take out two heirs of the Accetti family without consulting another family. He didn’t have any allies. We’re all competing with one another in a sense, but we also understand that working together and keeping the peace is beneficial to all of us.”
“What do you think happened to him?” She held me close. “Why did he stray so far away from the other families?”
“I can only speculate, but I think when he got caught up in this trafficking operation, he saw the potential to overthrow my father. Power, money, being in charge—it motivates men like me and your father.”
“You’re more honorable than my father.”
“I follow a code because that’s how my father runs things, and that’s what he taught me, but I’m not innocent in any of this. You saw what I was capable of today.”
I was no saint. My family did plenty of questionable things in the name of business, but the Accettis ran an organized syndicate, and we didn’t come for anyone who didn’t come for us first. We had high standards, and we expected all of the families to follow our example.
Gian broke the trust of all of the families when he brought sex trafficking into our territory. He, Angelo, Collins, and whoever else was involved had to be stopped.
“Thank you for letting me say what I did to Angelo.” She propped herself on her elbow. “I needed to say it out loud.”
“I’m sorry for what your father did to you.” I twisted a strand of her hair around my finger. “I’m going to find Collins and whoever else is involved in what happened here today, and I will stop them.”
“I believe you.”
“You’ve been through enough. I want to give you peace and happiness.”
“You do.” She set her hand on my heart. “I’m happier than I’ve ever been because of you. There isn’t anyone else I’d want to spend my life with.”
“Maybe we should think about going home and spending our life there.” I kissed her. “I want to get out of this house.”
“My mother and I are going to gut it and make it brand new.” She smiled. “She needs a fresh start too.”
“I like that idea.”
My phone buzzed from somewhere inside my pants pocket. Lissia reached over me as I sat up and leaned against the foot of the bed.
“Thank you.” I kissed her as she handed me my phone. I glanced at the caller ID. “It’s Milo.”
“Do you want me to give you some privacy?” she asked.
“I want you to stay with me.” I took her hand as I answered. “Milo.”
“The message has been delivered,” he said. “I made it clear that anyone aligning with who Gian and Angelo were working with will suffer the same fate as they did at the hands of the Accettis.”
“Excellent work.” We may not have known who was coming for us, but by taking Angelo out, we showed strength. The Accettis were still in control, and we would always protect what was ours.
I wrapped my arms around Lissia as she settled into my lap and rested her head against my chest.
“You do realize we’ve gotten ourselves tangled up in another war,” Milo said.
My brother was right, but this time, we had no idea who we were fighting against or when they were coming for us.